Like many readers, one reason I love books is because they help me learn about the experiences of others — and in that learning, find common ground. They make me feel more connected to people across time and space. In my life as a bookworm, I’ve had many moments of feeling seen, of kinship with authors and characters and other readers. But recently I had the most acute experience of this yet.

I’ve been starting my days around 5am for the past few weeks — my husband’s got an early wake up for work, and I figure I might as well seize the day too! With a baby coming this fall, I have many more early mornings ahead of me, but I know they’ll look a lot different. I’m excited, and I’m also taking advantage of the time I have now to enjoy reading, writing, moving, and generally getting things done before logging onto work at 9am. Here’s what a typical morning has looked like for me these last few weeks…

Ever since I saw this tag floating around Bookstagram, I’ve been mulling over my favorite moments in media. I think I might share my music & books moments down the road too, but here are some of the moments in film that live in my mind rent free…